Levator is the solo project of Seattle multi-instrumentalist Sky Lynn. Her first album, Midnight, features 12 impeccably crafted songs on which she played every note herself. In addition to being extremely detailed (especially for a self-produced, self-recorded album), the songs on Midnight are diverse yet cohesive, ranging from building rockers (â€œDiseaseâ€) to gentle piano pop (â€œWhite Hairâ€) to soulful wails (â€œHushâ€).

In preview of Levatorâ€™s July 28 show at the Sunset Tavern in Ballard, I caught up with Sky.

NM: You’re a hugely talented multi-instrumentalist/singer/songwriter type. How’s that work? SL: Ha! Well, thank you. I think it works for me because I love all types of music, so over the years I’ve kept adding instruments that allowed me to express myself in different styles, but because of that I suffer from sleep deprivation frequently, sometimes to the point of hallucinating. The other day I thought I saw a grizzly bear on the side of the road and when I shook my head in disbelief and looked again…it was a telephone pole!

NM: Does this semi-hallucinogenic state contribute negatively or positively to your songwriting? Do you have any songs about grizzly bears and polar bears? SL: I think it has a positive influence, although it does cloud my memory so I have to record all my ideas while I’m working on a song.NadaMucho.com Interview – LevatorQ & A with Sky LynnInterview By Matt Ashworth

Levator is the solo project of Seattle multi-instrumentalist Sky Lynn. Her first album, Midnight, features 12 impeccably crafted songs on which she played every note herself. In addition to being extremely detailed (especially for a self-produced, self-recorded album), the songs on Midnight are diverse yet cohesive, ranging from building rockers (â€œDiseaseâ€) to gentle piano pop (â€œWhite Hairâ€) to soulful wails (â€œHushâ€).

In preview of Levatorâ€™s July 28 show at the Sunset Tavern in Ballard, I caught up with Sky.

NM: You’re a hugely talented multi-instrumentalist/singer/songwriter type. How’s that work? SL: Ha! Well, thank you. I think it works for me because I love all types of music, so over the years I’ve kept adding instruments that allowed me to express myself in different styles, but because of that I suffer from sleep deprivation frequently, sometimes to the point of hallucinating. The other day I thought I saw a grizzly bear on the side of the road and when I shook my head in disbelief and looked again…it was a telephone pole!

NM: Does this semi-hallucinogenic state contribute negatively or positively to your songwriting? Do you have any songs about grizzly bears and polar bears? SL: I think it has a positive influence, although it does cloud my memory so I have to record all my ideas while I’m working on a song.

NM: I know of at least three projects you have going – Levator, Max Fischer and Blue Light Curtain. Give me a full list and rundown of which talents you contribute to each band. SL: I did everything on the Levator record, but Iâ€™ve playing with a drummer and a moog player and they will also be accompanying me on tour! In Max Fischer I play the drums very hard. With Blue Light Curtain I play drums and do some vocals. I also play bass and guitar and do some backing vocals for Robert Deeble, who will be joining me at the Sunset on July 28.

NM: Do you have a “day job” on top of all that? How do you do it? SL: Yeah, I have a regular 8 to 5 day job. Once a month I’ll catch up, which means I’ll sleep for about 20 hours straight. Besides that, I try to take vitamins, eat healthy food, drink coffee, floss my teeth..

NM: You recently released your first solo album under the name Levator. Tell me about the name, then the album. SL: Levator has a few definitions. One of them being a surgical instrument for lifting the depressed fragments of a fractured skull and the second one being a muscle that raises a bodily part. It sparks a few different pictures in my mind that I find pretty entertaining. The albumâ€™s twelve tracks long and includes a little bit of everything. The songs range from acoustic guitar based tracks, to multi-layered distorted guitars, to piano/organ based songs. It took me 12 months from start (buying a computer/software) to finish (the CD release party).

NM: The songs on Midnight seem very detailed and carefully crafted, which isn’t always the case with this sort of “DIY” type of project. How do you recreate this in a live setting? SL: Thank you! I totally take that as a compliment. I have built a very large pedal board and carefully selected certain pedals over the years that allow me to not only create a wide range of tones, but also to create live loops of guitar and voice. So I sing all my vocal harmonies live and can play off my guitar with other guitar textures or even other instruments.

NM: What’s your favorite song on the record, and why? SL: Oooh, that’s a hard question. I’m going to go with Mill Creek because I have very fond memories of where I wrote that song and also of recording it. I wrote it years ago on my favorite little nylon stringed guitar. I was on my way to the ocean only taking the back roads. It was gray and misty, passing through very small towns on narrow lanes. And then in the studio I was able to produce an idea I’ve had stored in my head for quite some time. I took a section of the song and recorded the chords string by string with an ebow. I wanted a symphonic sound with the guitar but when combined actually only playing a chord. I then separated the tracks of recorded strings, three on the right and three on the left and continued to pan them back and forth throughout the phrase.

NM: I’ve heard people compare your stuff to both Cat Power and PJ Harvey.Were they influences? Who else has had a big impact on what you do? SL: That’s funny. I get that a lot and can see why. But honestly, I just started listening to them in the last year or two. I guess they influence me as much as anything else I hear. A big impact on what I do? I’d have to say it started with records I pulled off of my parents’ shelves: The Beatles, Neil Young, The Doors, Led Zeppelin. From there it moved to The Cure and Nirvana. And now, I suffer from a disease that requires me to buy new albums every weekend.

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